“So, love must exist with obedience, or it is not love. Without perfect love, there will always be fear. … The only thing that will relieve these fears is love, and as the Brother of the Lord teaches us, we will know if a person loves by his actions.”

Growing up I was taught about love and I was taught about obedience, but I don’t recall ever really being taught the relationship between the two or the fact that the Love of God and obedience to God are inextricably linked. Of course, it is right there in scripture, plain as day:

“He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me” John 14:21

“If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love” John 15:21

….and the simplest one of all:

“If ye love me, [you will] keep my commandments.” John 14:15.

Such an easy little verse to read and memorize, such a difficult one to really understand, and harder still to fulfill—especially without the teaching and aid of the Church. So I could not break the vicious cycle of fear and sin in my life. Sin leads to fear—fear of the consequences of our actions, fear of punishment, fear of the judgment of God… This fear causes us to hide from God and from each other and to seek ‘fig leaves’ to cover ourselves. We run to the ships of Tarshish to escape our fears, to attempt to flee from God and His judgment. But this just leads to more sin—and more fear. The terrible cycle continues. Lord, have mercy!

But when the love of God intervenes to interrupt this cycle, a new cycle begins. The tormenting cycle of sin and fear is replaced with the blessed cycle of love and obedience. God’s love calls us to obedience and our obedience increases our love—which increases our obedience. “We love him, because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19) His love initiates this eternal dance of perfect love and perfect submission. And “there is no fear in love because perfect love casts out fear” Glory be to God!!

Whether you are able to respond are not we are grateful for your edifying and challenging posts which inspire us to think (and I have to write when I think).

Thank You and Bless,

Deborah

Our blog has so many insightful comments – this is one of many. I should try harder to reply to them, to keep up a dialogue, but it seems that I am not wired that way.

Why were they afraid? Deborah answers the question – they did not have perfect love.

Our children have taught us an important principle – keep asking questions. You know, when your 3 year old asks why, and you explain, and then they ask something about the explanation, and so on, until you feel like you are going crazy.

We must be like a (mature) child in our questioning. No, this is not an oxymoron. We are called to be as little children – but the Lord did not intend for us to be as children in EVERYTHING, but to glean the best parts of their character – their purity and zeal, obedience and openness, thirst for knowledge and ability to forgive.

So, as a three year old, let us pursue the subject farther. HOW did they not love?

They did not follow God’s law, which they knew well. They did not follow the simple externals of the law, such as “do not keep pigs”, nor did they follow the pinnacle of the law, to love God so wholeheartedly that they would love their neighbor as God loves him.

When there is partial love, there is partial forgiveness (remember the woman who washed Jesus’ feet). With partial forgiveness, there is partial healing, partial confidence before God. Their conduct made them fear the presence of God, just as Adam and Eve were afraid in the garden after they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

So, love must exist with obedience, or it is not love. Without perfect love, there will always be fear. We are a nation and a worldwide people beset with fear. Anxiety is epidemic, and people are trying all sorts of remedies – medicines, secular counseling, Eastern religion, indulgence of the senses and self. The only thing that will relieve these fears is love, and as the Brother of the Lord teaches us, we will know if a person loves by his actions.

The Gadarene townspeople were possessed by their fears. Like ‘Legion’ they were terrified by the presence of the Savior and desired Him to go away and leave them alone. The Lord knew that these poor souls were as helpless as the man from whom He cast out the demons and He had mercy on them–He commanded the formerly possessed man to remain as a testimony of His grace, deliverance and power, to live among them, to love them and declare what great things the Lord had done for him–so that they, too, might have their demons cast out:

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.” 1 John 4:18